Safe & Sound
by MizzyNyan
Summary: Michiru journeys to find a home where she could spend her life forever. A journey into the forest had her and a little girl name Yuuki ending up in Everwood Castle where Queen Valora resides. Their life starts there.
1. Chapter 1

**Safe & Sound**

 **CHAPTER 1**

"It's time that I found a new home… I can't stay here." Michiru had said as she walked around town where she had lived on streets for as long as she could remember. Michiru is an orphan who has been in foster homes – back and forth but now she has run away from her last foster home as she was always physically abused. From then on, she strived to live on the streets but she thought that it was time to find a place that she could finally call home – safe from the hands of smugglers, safe from the hands of any abusers be it physically or emotionally. It was time that she moved on to a new life.

She walked for miles, away from the town and into the forest where fruits were abundant and where wild animals reside. Being a playful child growing up, she was able to climb trees, the closest she could see from the town. Up on a tree, she knew she'd be safer. She searched for a place where there was clean water, still close to the trees and fruits. After walking north, further into the forest, she finally found a river and it was the clearest one she saw and probably also the cleanest. "I guess this is better than nothing…" she muttered under her breath as she cupped up a good amount of fresh water into hands.

Though Michiru felt so tired that she could collapse any moment, she gathered as much food as she could with all the strength she could muster. After gathering a good amount of food that could last a few days, she built herself a makeshift home out of branches, leaves and vines up on the strongest tree she saw that was near the river. "There, all done." She said wiping her sweat on her forehead with her left arm. She stretched her arms out, tired from the day and she then gets ready to bathe and wash her clothes in the river. She was lucky that the water was really clean and clear although as the sun went down, the breeze grew colder. She was used to this kind of thing though since she would sleep in the nearest open and unguarded car she could find through the winter and through the rain.

Michiru grew to be sneaky yet careful, a tad bit clumsy yet fairly responsible. She would be aware with her surroundings and with every little detail; she'd remember what would be a safe bet or not when it comes to surviving alone. She was used to being a loner, she was not easy to trust but she is one to be the most loyal person. Surviving alone in a vast world isn't easy – having abandoned to no family to cling to, to call out to for help. All Michiru ever had was herself and until she finds a home – a true home, all she will ever have is herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

 _"Mama… mama…? Where are you mama?" I keep running from one house to another in search of my mother but every time I knock on the door and someone glances at me after answering the door, they would all shut that door hard right in my face. I'm unwanted… I'll never be wanted… who would want an orphan like me? Who would love me? Who would even be friends with someone like me…? I keep running and running, bumping into every tree branch and bush in a dark forest of which was unfamiliar to me. "Mama! Mama where are you?!" *gasps*_

"It was just a dream…?" Michiru wondered as she found herself still on her makeshift home up on the tree. It was already dawn but the forest still seemed dark from all the trees that surrounded the lands. From the view of the tree, the ground would seem to glitter from the morning dew that was reflected from the morning sunshine. Sweating from her nightmare, Michiru climbed down the tree to wash herself in the river. It was a new day and she had to make a decision – whether to remain in the forest where there was abundant food and drink or to walk further away in hopes of finding a real home.

She decided on the latter but first she had to scout the woods and find a path that seems modern enough to lead to a building that may have either been abandoned or someone might be still living in it. From where Michiru stood, she headed east where the river was flowing from upstream. Creating a makeshift bag out of banana leaves and some vines, she used it to put her food in. She could only bring a few to last her several days or nights as the bag wasn't that strong but she didn't lose hope as the forest had more food than anyone had ever thought.

Following the river upstream, Michiru started to head east. As she walked, she found a seemingly sturdy branch on the ground. "This could come in handy later on. I better keep this." She thought to herself as she picked it up off the ground. She made a few stops every now and then to quench her hunger and thirst and to save her energy before dusk. *crack* "What was that?" She said as she looked around after drinking water from the river. Taking the branch she just found, she wields it in front of her as if it was some kind of weapon and she was slightly crouched down for defense. The bushes rustle and she was trying to make out where the sound was coming from. The wind didn't help much with that as it blew the bushes and the trees all around the forest. "U-uhm… please don't kill me… I mean no harm." A voice – as soft and meek as a bunny came out of the bush and it sounded like a girl's voice although it could be a little boy. Michiru carefully went forward, still with the branch wielded in front of her. Her eyes squint to see through the holes that the leaves made in the bush. She could see a silhouette but she couldn't make out the gender so she waited until this person comes out.

"P-please… don't kill me…" Just as these words were said, a little girl comes out.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

A little girl came out of the bush wearing torn clothes, was thin from starving for several days and didn't look like she could last on her own. "U-uhm… are you lost too?" The little girl timidly asked Michiru as this girl fiddled with her long, tangled hair that reached her waist. Michiru then stood straight, putting down the branch as she sensed no danger with this girl. She shook her head 'no' in response.

"I actually ran away from my last foster home. What about you? It looks like you haven't eaten a decent meal in a while." Michiru had said as her eyes fell on the girl from top to bottom as if scanning her.

"I've… been here for a long while. I don't know how to fight so all I do is pick berries from the bushes around the forest and then drink water from this river." The little girl replies.

Michiru thought that she could spare some of her food since she was born to fight and strive on her own to survive. "Here," she opened up her makeshift bag and took out 3 bananas for the little girl to eat right then and hands them to her with a smile "eat up. If you're willing to travel with me, you'll need to gain some strength."

"But where are we going, Miss?"

"The name is Michiru. I'm 16 and WE are going to find ourselves our true home." Speaking with confidence, the little girl smiled her brightest and felt that she could take on anything as long as she was with Michiru.

"I'm Yuuki… 10."

"Well you're fairly young to be here. Why are you here? Did you get lost?"

"No… maybe… yes."

"Where did you come from?" Michiru asked as she gave out a soft chuckle at Yuuki's earlier statement.

"Uhm… from the town of Kai."

"Kai? That's still in the next town from where I came from. How the heck did you end up lost in the woods all by yourself?"

"I remember my siblings and I were playing here in the woods when our parents and ourselves came to the town of Kurom."

"Town of Kurom? That's where I used to live although I've been in more places than one already…" Michiru mentioned as Yuuki went on with her story. They talked about how Yuuki got even more lost in the woods. She ended up wandering further until she found the river and from there, she did not know where else to go. She did not want to stray from the river in fear that she'll never find it again if she went too far.

"We'll build ourselves a home here for now. First, let's gather some branches" Michiru started as she then leaned over Yuuki slightly as there was a big difference in height, "and stick to me so that you won't get lost again." She said with a smile as she then pats Yuuki's head gently. They walked further upstream for a little bit and found a sturdy tree where they can build their home strong enough to hold them both. They gathered big branches and leaves along with thick sturdy vines to tie them with and started building their tree home. "How come you know how to build something this big, Michiru?" Yuuki asked as her clumsy nature made her drop some vines as she walked to pick up new ones. Michiru, on the other hand, was busy tying up the branches together with the vines Yuuki picked up earlier and with a smile, she responded "I guess I was just born to survive." Confused with Michiru's statement, Yuuki walked in closer putting down the vines on the pile that was already gathered. "Born to survive? What does that mean?"

"I was abandoned by my parents ever since I was a baby. Since then, I've been living as an orphan in foster homes."

"That's good though isn't it?"

"Sadly, it wasn't what I expected. I didn't last long in one house. There would always be a reason that I couldn't stay anymore."

"Aww… but why is that?"

"Their reasons for getting rid of me? I don't know… but with my last foster home, I was always physically abused." Michiru then rolled up her thin sleeve showing Yuuki her bruises and scars.

Being the pure little girl that she was, Yuuki hugged Michiru just as she climbed down the tree. Michiru smiled, hugging the little girl tight in return; patting her little head at the same time. "C'mon, it's time that we finish this tree house before night falls." Yuuki then nods as they went back to finishing their home.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

A new day means a new journey. Yuuki was cuddled up with Michiru on their makeshift tree house. They were both in need of a family. Michiru thinks that Yuuki's family has already given up on finding her, thinking that she's already dead. She on the other hand, wants and needs a new family. One that will fully accept her and will not get rid of her anymore nor abuse her. Michiru just wants to be loved truly in the loving arms of a real family and she's taking Yuuki with her and she vows to keep Yuuki alive and protect her as if she was her younger sister.

While Yuuki was still asleep, Michiru carefully moved from the makeshift tree house, climbed down and gathered more food for them. She did not have to go far from the tree house, as she knew Yuuki would come looking for her and end up getting lost again so she looked around the area close to the tree house. After gathering food, she looked for a sharp rock and a sturdy thin branch to make a spear out of and with incredible luck, she found the perfect pair to be made into a weapon. From the pile of vines that was left over, Michiru took one thick vine and tore it in half so that it was thin but sturdy enough to tie the rock onto the branch with. Now that she has a weapon of her own, she made another for Yuuki, one that was slightly smaller to fit her size and light for her to carry around but strong enough to impale an animal for hunting. Michiru thought she had to teach Yuuki to go hunting so that they could prepare themselves better food.

Yuuki woke up to find Michiru gone from her side. Of course, she sort of panicked but then as she hovered over to her side, she found Michiru right under the tree house making something pointy. To her curiosity, she carefully climbed down the tree and looked over Michiru's shoulder slightly. "What's that you're making?" She asked as then Michiru looked over and smiled at her, "I'm making you a spear or well… I guess you could also call it a dagger that is slightly longer than a normal one." Michiru said as she had another look at the weapon. "Why would I have a weapon?" Yuuki asked as then Michiru replies with a chuckle, "You need to hunt and I will teach you. It's good training, plus, you will learn how to fight." Michiru then handed Yuuki her new weapon. Yuuki took it and examined it thoroughly – how heavy it was, how sharp the rock's tip and sides were and she also gave it a few swings to test its sturdiness.

"You're really good at making things Michiru. Where'd you learn all of this?" Yuuki asked as she gave Michiru an intent look.

"It takes a lot of trial and error to be able to make things this sturdy. When I first made a weapon, it was flimsy so it broke a lot of times but then I looked for better materials around town and was able to make weapon that was stronger than the first."

"How come you don't have that weapon anymore?"

"It was stolen from me, sadly. It was a good weapon too…"

"Ouch, that sucks." Yuuki says as they laughed it off and stood from where they were.

"Hey, Yuuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to cut your hair? It's awfully long and tangled, I'm sure you've been having a hard time with it." Michiru suggested and to her surprise, Yuuki happily agreed without hesitation.

"YES PLEASE!" Yuuki excitingly exclaimed.

Michiru laughed at Yuuki's excited expression as she then took Yuuki's new dagger from her and held it up. "Well then, shall we test your new weapon?" Yuuki nods in excitement as she immediately turned around, her back facing Michiru. Michiru gathered all of Yuuki's long hair, though tangled; she did her best to comb Yuuki's hair with her fingers. "Hmm… I think it's best to get your hair wet first so it's easier to comb through." She suggested and Yuuki agreed so they went into the river. Since the river was flowing downstream, Michiru sat down with Yuuki sitting by her right. She gently laid Yuuki down with Yuuki's head on her lap. With the water flowing downstream towards Yuuki's direction, they got her hair wet enough to have Michiru's fingers comb through. As Yuuki's hair smoothed out, Michiru sat Yuuki back up and gathered all of her hair. With a swift motion, she made a cut directly across as Yuuki's hair now falls about two inches below her shoulders. "There. Now that's easier to maintain." Michiru said as she placed Yuuki's cut hair onto the ground away from the river. "I feel like I'm lighter too with all that hair gone!" Yuuki then says happily.

With that, the two of them bathed in the river. Michiru spots a wild boar near the river while they bathed and she told Yuuki not to make any sudden movement or sound as she then carefully picked up her new spear from beside the river's edge. The boar did not notice Michiru's move as it was facing the opposite direction. She took that as an advantage as she the swiftly and strongly threw the spear towards the boar. Her shot was successful with Yuuki celebrating in cheer. "Nice shot!"

Now they will have to create a fire pit near their tree house and so they gathered firewood and some rocks. Michiru found some forked sticks sturdy enough to be stands so they could roast the boar. Yuuki then found a sturdy yet thin branch to impale the boar with but of course Michiru had to peel off the bark so that it would impale the boar smoothly. "Good job finding this stick, Yuuki." Michiru says while she peels off the bark from the stick. "Thanks. I found it over there. There was a big pile of them." Yuuki pointed towards the direction opposite from the river. "A pile of them you say?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Michiru had her curiosity going as Yuuki pointed to the direction of where she got the stick. "Show me where you got this after we eat, okay?" Michiru said and Yuuki nods as they prepared to roast the boar Michiru hunted. Since it was a small boar, the meat was enough to last a day or two and after they ate, Yuuki led Michiru to the pile of sticks that she found opposite the river.

"There's a path here…" Michiru mutters under breath but it was loud enough for Yuuki to hear.

"Do you think someone lives near here?" Yuuki asks as she held onto Michiru's hand, walking cautiously around that area.

"Let's go find out. Do you have your dagger with you, Yuuki?" Michiru asks as then Yuuki raised the dagger that she's been holding with her free hand.

"Alright, keep that with you. We might encounter something dangerous if we're not careful." Michiru explains as she held her spear. Yuuki nods in agreement as she held Michiru's hand tighter.

Following the path, they slowly approached what seems to be an old castle. From behind the trees, they see that guards in armor surrounded the castle. There were only a few of them, about four that guarded the castle door. Crouching behind the bush by the trees, they planned on how to appear decent and unsuspecting. Honestly, they could just lose the weapons for a bit and approach the guards carefully and not aggressively. Of course, that is what they did as it was the most logical solution there is at the moment. They hid their weapons under fallen leaves by the bush where they hid and emerged from the end of the forest path, approaching the castle slowly hand in hand.

Though slowly approaching, the guards were still on high alert. That isn't anything new; they are just doing their job well. Two of the guards approached half way, halting the girls. "Who are you?! What business do you have with the Queen of Everwood?!" As would one of the guards would say in a rather firm tone; scaring Yuuki as she hid behind Michiru. "We just found this place… we've been wandering the forest in search for a new family that could accept us. Yuuki here got lost as she was playing with her siblings one day in the forest… she's been trying to survive on her own for weeks and then yesterday, I found her as I was heading upstream following the opposite flow of the river and-" The Queen comes out of the castle which had cut Michiru's explanation. The guards had noticed as they began to straighten up and face each other, the Queen walking at their center. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Everwood. What brings you both here to this majestic home of mine?" The Queen says, as she stood straight with her hands on her lap and a smile on her face. The two girls were instantly star struck as they gazed upon the Queen's presence before them. Coming back to reality, they also fell onto the floor and without realizing their actions, they seemed to be bowing down to the Queen before them. As the two girls were still in awe, the Queen lightly bends down lifting up Michiru's chin with her long and slender fingers, "Well, my dear? What brings you here?" she says in a soft tone.

"U-uh yes, Ma'am! I-I mean your Majesty!" Michiru stutters as she snapped back into reality once more facing the Queen who has been smiling ever so gently as she let go of Michiru's chin and stood back up straight. Michiru then stands abruptly, making her as stiff as a stick while little Yuuki stood carefully and hid behind her. "We've been searching high and low for a new home, your Highness… I have been through many foster homes and so having given up on them, I ran off on my own, striving for myself. Yuuki here got separated from her family not long ago as she and her siblings were playing in the forest. While I was walking through this forest, I found her and so I've been taking her with me.." Michiru says as the Queen looked ever so worried while she listened to the journey Michiru and Yuuki embarked on all on their own.

"Well, you both must be so hungry and tired. Come, let us head inside before any danger comes by nightfall. Don't worry girls, it is safe here in Everwood but we can never let our guard down." The Queen exclaims with a smile on her face as she led the girls inside the castle. "I will have the servants draw you both a bath and have the cook prepare a meal for all of us." She says as she then makes her way to her throne, ordering the servants and cook whilst she walks. "T-thank you! Your Highness…" Hearing Yuuki's gracious thanks, the Queen stopped in her tracks and smile at the little girl. "You may call me Queen Valora." She says with another smile before she turned and proceeded to her throne.

Feeling safe and secure, the girls thanked the heavens for this opportunity. Both of them have thought of how to repay the Queen for her kindness but as they grew tired from their journey, they told each other to get back on that subject after they have rested. And so the night begins at Everwood Castle together with Queen Valora.


End file.
